Business Ethics : Ethics in Selling

For many months your prospective ERP customer has been analyzing the hundreds of assumptions built into the $800,000 ERP software you are selling. So far, you have knocked yourself out to try to make this sale. If the sale goes through, you will reach your yearly quota and get a nice bonus. On the other hand, loss of this sale may mean you start looking for other employment.

The accounting, human resource, supply-chain, and marketing teams put together by the client have reviewed the specifications and finally recommended purchase of the software. However, as you looked over their shoulders and helped them through the evaluation process, you began to realize that their purchasing procedures - with much of the purchasing being done at hundreds of regional stores - were not a good fit for the software. At the very least, the customizing will add $250,000 to the implementation and training cost. The team is not aware of the issue, and you know that the necessary $250,000 is not in the budget.

What do you do?

Solution Preview

There are two situations. If you have a boss to report to, then just tell your boss your concerns about the extra cost the customer may have to spend and let your boss to make the ...